“It’s a labor of love and I’m so happy that the voters saw past all the garbage,” Fernandez Rundle said Tuesday night.

Vereen, a criminal defense attorney for more than 22 years, was hoping to unseat incumbent Katherine Fernandez Rundle. He said his role as a defense attorney gives him an understanding of crime his opponent never had.

Vereen, who has the support of the PBA, criticized Rundle for playing politics with the office and for failing to criminally charge Congressman David Rivera for misusing campaign funds. Vereen said Rundle wrongly views the office as her own private fiefdom.

Fernandez Rundle, who has held the office for 19 years, said she believes in the people of Miami-Dade and they believe in her.

“The voters are smart,” Fernandez Rundle said Tuesday night. “They know what they’re doing. They know what the issues are. They believe in performance, and they believe in people that fight for them. And they know in men, they’ve got a fighter.”

Vereen ran for Congress two years ago as an independent and was easily beaten by Frederica Wilson. This time Vereen is running as a Democrat.

With no Republican opponent in November, Fernande Rundle will be the state attorney.

“They’ve tried all kinds of different combinations of running somebody against me,” Fernandez Rundle said. “The people that want to manipulate us or control us, can’t. And they’ve tried different ways, and the people, every single time, win.”